The Custom Process

Howerton Jewelers & Co. is leading the trend in central Illinois towards computerized custom design with Matrix 3-D Jewelry Design Software.  This state-of-the-art system allows customers to see their design from every angle before it is even made.  Details can be seen on screen and in scale so you get exactly what you are looking for. Whether you want to remount an outdated ring or custom design your dream necklace, creating it with CAD-CAM is the most accurate way to do it.

 

Designing jewelry used to be a tedious and imprecise process.  Traditional methods include hand-sketching the item then hand-carving a wax model for the customer to approve.  If changes need to be made, the process starts over.  With the addition of this advanced technology Howerton Jewelers & Co. can create the precise design that you are looking for in less time.  Once you approve the 3-D design on the screen, the file can be sent to a machine that accurately carves a prototype out of wax which you can examine for yourself.  This wax will then be transformed into a quality, custom-designed piece of fine jewelry.

The design, casting, and making of a piece of jewlery...

Click on the first picture below and click the play button to view the slideshow.  Most pictures have comments explaining what is happening at that stage.

  • Creating the model within our computer-aided design software.
  • A view from the top of our finished model.
  • Getting a file created defining the "tool paths" for the milling machine to follow.
  • After the first stage of milling. This will now be removed from the block and placed on rotary tool where further milling can be done.
  • On the rotary tool. More refinement of the model.
  • After milling is done there is usually 1-5 hours of hand-finishing. Here, the holes for the stones are being finished.
  • Creating a finer finish by hand around the ring. The machine does a nice job of creating the model but it can't quite achieve the level that you can get with hand-finishing.
  • The wax model completely finished and ready for the next stage in the process.
  • "Spruing up" the ring. That's what this is called where the ring is connected, by wax, to a funnel-shaped piece. The funnel is our conduit through which the molten precious metal is poured during casting.
  • The wax model must be "invested." The white plaster of paris-looking stuff is called investment.
  • The metal canister that holds the wax model and investment is called the flask. The investment is filled nearly to the top completely covering the model. The investment is mixed during a 9-minute process and must be just right for a successful casting.
  • After 2 hours of curing, the flask is then placed in a mult-stage oven for about 8 hours of burnout.
  • Here it is in the last stage reaching a temperature of 1240 degrees F. The wax mold is completely vaporized during burnout leaving the void in the investment for the metal to fill during casting.
  • Meanwhile, the casting grain is ready for melting. Here we have 14K white gold in the crucible.
  • The melt must be timed with the end of the burnout so the molten precious metal is pured into a red-hot flask to help enure the mold is filled.
  • The series of pictures following show the melt and the cast of the ring.
  • Notice the red-hot flask.
  • After the pour. Yes, we have to get it all into that little hole on top.
  • Cool down. How long the metal cools before quenching into a bucket of water depends on the type and color of metal to allow it to recrystallize properly to form a quality piece.
  • Here's what a clean, unfinished 14K white gold cast looks like. Notice the "sprue," or the funnel, at the bottom through which the gold was poured.
  • Finishing the piece is the next stage. Many hours of work still lie ahead in the hand-finishing process.
  • Pre-finish.
  • Another shot of the pre-finish focusing on the engraving we modeled into the ring.
  • Buffing the inside of the ring.
  • After several hours of finishing it's now beginning to look like a real piece of jewelry.
  • Another shot.
  • There's that engraving again.
  • Time to set the stones. All hand-done.
  • After setting a few of the diamonds it's beginning to take shape.
  • The finished product!

Dan Howerton, Owner

dan@howertonjewelers.com

Tel: 309-706-9373